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[Dahak]

Well I somewhat expected this to happen eventually.
Also if someone is testing it, try to install without the key first and then once in windows is all installed, then try to activate the key and see if that makes any difference.

 

[WilliamM2]

I assume if you are currently running Win 10 (1607) that was updated from a Win 7 key and activated, that the Creators edition will still activate on a clean install without a key at all?

Also, is this page updated to the Creators version yet?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

[Dahak]

I assume if you are currently running Win 10 (1607) that was updated from a Win 7 key and activated, that the Creators edition will still activate on a clean install without a key at all?

Yes it should still activate on the same machine, or if its tied to your MS account.

What Oubadah and I(well at least I am) where asking is from a fresh install on a machine that never had windows 10

 

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[Ken g6]

Will Win10 still run indefinitely without activation with this update? I just recently heard it would do that.

 

[quikah]

Paul Thurott (and several people replying) says it still works.

https://twitter.com/thurrott/status/852865732908109824

 

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[daveybrat]

I'm installing the Creator's Update ISO on my customer's laptops and PC's and it's still activating with their Windows 7 or digital 8/8.1 license key.

 

[jsalpha2]

Also if someone is testing it, try to install without the key first and then once in windows is all installed, then try to activate the key and see if that makes any difference.

That was how I did it last time. Haven't tried on the newest ISO.

 

[Dahak]

That was how I did it last time. Haven't tried on the newest ISO.

I apologise if this has been covered, but I just saw a tweet from Paul Thurrott that he did a clean install of the Creator's update and was able to activate it with an unused Windows 7 key. So apparently that mechanism is still in place.

-KeithP

So it looks like its still doable, but for how long is anyones guess

 

[bruceb]

I thought if you had a retail Win 7 or Win 8 license you could always do a clean install of Windows 10 .. I hope that will still be the case, as I have Windows 7 from the MS Launch Event (about 5 years ago) and that is a fully legitimate key provided by Microsoft. Right now I don't need to use it or Win 10 on the desktop but may in the future.

 

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[bruceb]

It would be a big hassle to try it on my Dell Dimension 8200 P4 1.8Ghz 2GB RAM .. it would only be able to do the 32 Bit Windows 10 and I might have issues with the older Nvidia graphics card, the Santa Cruz Audio, the Serial card, maybe even with the NIC card. And if I do buy a new computer in a year or two, it will have Win 10 on it already and I could use my key to make it Win 10 Pro .. I would also need to do a system image before I tried it. Biggest issue is reinstalling all sorts of programs, resetting all the options and preferences and testing all of them out again. All that takes time. And as for assistive technology, I am getting up there (65) so eventually, I and others might actually use that feature. The only way to do an inplace upgrade is: XP to Vista to Win 7 to Win 10 .. I don't think you can do XP to Vista to Win 10 directly

 

[mikeymikec]

So it looks like its still doable, but for how long is anyones guess

MS wants people to run Win10, therefore it's logical that old keys will still activate.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

MS wants people to run Win10, therefore it's logical that old keys will still activate.

Yeah. It's about other aspects of their costs -- in support for Win7 and Win 8, and maintenance for Win 10. You could ask "What would happen if Win7-to-Win10 upgraders were asked to pay for a new build at some future time? Imagine what THOSE costs might be. That's why they don't go there. So they'll honor their commitment to the original Free Win 10 under Win 7 product key, and they should honor it for Anniversary through Creators Update and updates beyond that.

Here's what I think is likely as I've seen it so far. They'll let you keep using the old 1607 Build and they will continue providing updates to maintain it. If anyone knows differently about that, chime in here and let us know. Right now I'm poised to try again on my dual-boot configuration and I can now do it through updates (which had stopped working but it was an easy fix), through the download/update website where the updater takes control of your system within a session of the 1607 configuration, and through either USB or ISO installation media.

I don't see a need or reason to circumvent the "Media Creation Tool" with the EDGE F12->Emulation settings, unless you want a generic installation medium. I think with Media Creation Tool, the installation medium and content you get will be optimal for the machine on which it is made.

What is needed here or in a more directly appropriate thread is a growing set of observations about the actual comparative advantages of Build 1703.

I could be paranoid enough to think MS "planned" the obstacle thrown up by my Windows Update -- a problem eliminated by uninstalling "ghost" drive/driver installations. But to discover it, any number of users would have to use PowerShell to crack the update logs and put them in readable format, and they'd have to know what to look for. That's too paranoid. But there have been indications in articles posted on the web prior and after April 11 -- indications that people had an obstacle with Windows Update to arrive at a screen that checks and completes updates to Build 1607 while offering Build 1703 in a little two-line advertisement and link-invitation.

 

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[Puffnstuff]

For the record: I tested this today with the Fall Creators Update ISO, clean installed and activated with a new Win7 key, and it still works (still not sure what I did wrong back when I started this thread). I notice that the Assistive Technologies upgrade site is remains online too.

Their server was probably overloaded like with what happened when 10 was originally released leading to activation issues.